New Zealand ANZ Business Confidence tumbled to -63.5 in March, down from -19.4, close to a record low. All sectors are in deep negative: Agriculture (-79.4), Construction (-67.6), Services (-66.5), Retail (-65.4), Manufacturing (-46.2). Activity Outlook also dropped from 12.0 to -26.7: Retail (-40.7), Services (-26.8), Agriculture (-26.5), Construction (-23.7), Manufacturing (-21.0).
ANZ said: “Times are grim. We’ve never seen such a broad economic shock strike with such ferocity. Firms are right to be alarmed. Both fiscal and policy are leaping into action but a severe recession is guaranteed… It’s going to get worse before it gets better, and firms know that. Rock-bottom confidence is the symptom, not the cause, of the woes in the New Zealand (and global) economy.”
